- Kia’s smallest EV yet
- Impressive drive and efficiency
- Stylish and useable infotainment
Kia’s smallest EV is a continuation of the brand’s winning formula, with design, driving manners and practicality that should ensure success.
Overview
The newest and smallest member of Kia’s EV range, the EV2 is a car that should be of particular interest to the brand’s dealers, since it is expected to mainly be of interest to retail buyers, in contrast with larger Kia EVs which have more fleet appeal. In terms of overall sales, Kia has predicted it could eventually rival the EV3 as its most popular EV.
The EV2 is a B-segment SUV, measuring 4.06m long, making it a rival for cars such as the Renault 4 E-Tech, Ford Puma Gen-E and Jeep Avenger (the latter being one of several models in this segment offered by the Stellantis group).
The EV2 has made its UK debut with a 42.2kWh Standard Range battery. However, Kia is at pains to point out that this is not the version of the EV2 it is pinning its sales hopes on, with the 61.4kWh Long Range version, due later this year, expected to be far more popular. This is despite the Standard Range car having a more powerful electric motor, at 147PS versus 134PS – both versions offer 250Nm of torque.
The EV2 plays up to its SUV positioning with chunky styling, which we think looks good. It gives the vibe of being a slightly more grown-up version of the Hyundai Inster city car – something that could also be said to apply to the model more generally.
Pricing and spec
The first EV2s to arrive in the UK are in limited-run First Edition spec, which comes exclusively with the Standard Range battery. The full range line-up, consisting of Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S trim levels, will arrive later this year, all with the Long Range battery.
First Edition trim, which is expected to account for 1,200 of the nearly 8,000 EV2s Kia plans to sell here in 2026, comes with UK Government Electric Car Grant eligibility at the £1,500 ‘Band Two’ level, bringing its OTR price down from £28,495 to £26,995. Kia is expecting the rest of the range, when it arrives, to be eligible for the £3,750 ‘Band One’ grant – in anticipation of this it is offering retail customers a ‘reservation saving’ discount at the same value. This reduces the starting price for the rest of the range, with the Air trim level, from £27,995 to £24,245.
Standard features of Air trim include LED headlights, electric folding door mirrors, keyless entry, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a reversing camera.
GT-Line adds equipment such as 19-inch alloy wheels, GT-Line specific bumpers, tinted windows, two-tone imitation leather upholstery, a wireless phone charger and automatic flush-fit door handles.
Further features of the top-spec GT-Line S trim include electrically adjustable front seats with ventilation, Harman Kardon audio, a sunroof and a power tailgate.
Fundamentally, the First Edition trim level is placed between the Air and GT-Line specs in the EV2 line-up, with features such as 18-inch alloy wheels and Air styling elements. Augmenting this, however, is some kit from higher up the range such as the Harman Kardon audio system and remote smart parking assist.
With its £1,500 Electric Car Grant, the EV2 First Edition looks a little pricier than the Renault 4 E-Tech, which is eligible for the full grant. However, although an entry-level Puma Gen-E is cheaper, with a fairer mid-range trim comparison the Kia is cheaper despite the Ford also getting the full grant. The rest of the EV2 range, with its £3,750 discount/expected grant, handily undercuts the Puma Gen-E, and is more competitive with the 4 E-Tech, although the Renault retains a slight price advantage. The EV2 is more competitively priced across the board than the Jeep Avenger, which only gets a £1,500 grant.
Technology
With all trim levels, the EV2’s interior features what could at first glance be mistaken for a single giant screen. It is in fact three screens, with a 12.3in infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3in driver display sandwiching a 5.3in climate control screen. The effect this creates of a combined display stretching across the dashboard is visually impressive, and very logically laid out, with the climate screen creating a clear separation between the infotainment screen and driver display. The latter is also well arranged, and we like the chunky graphical design which matches the rest of the car well. We also like the feature whereby the remaining range shown on the driver display updates in real time as different drive modes are scrolled through.
Although a useful hand-bracing shelf makes it easier to operate the touchscreen on the move, it’s still good to see a row of physical shortcut touch buttons below it, and a set of ventilation controls below that, while controls for the heated seats and steering wheel are provided on the door. Overall, we think this is a car drivers will get used to operating very quickly.
Safety
The EV2 comes as standard with Kia’s Forward Collision Avoidance Assist 2.0 system, which includes pedestrian, cyclist, junction turning and junction crossing functions. Other standard driver assistance systems include Highway Driving Assist 2.0 and Lane Follow Assist 2.0.
Should drivers wish to turn off the mandatory overspeed warning system, this can be achieved with an extended press of a single button.
The long-time Kia/Hyundai feature of blind spot camera views appearing on the driver display when indicating is one we still find very useful, especially when parallel parking.
The EV2 is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP. Kia says this will take place later this year, and that it expects the EV2 to receive high scores for pedestrian and occupant safety.
Driving experience
The 147PS motor included with the EV2 First Edition is enough to offer a good amount of shove when getting up to speed. As for efficiency, over a mixed test route of mainly urban and A-roads we achieved an energy consumption figure of 4.5 mi/kWh, which would put the EV2 bang on target for matching its official WLTP combined range, with the Standard Range battery, of 190 miles. It will be interesting to see how Long Range versions, once they arrive, get on with matching their expected 281-mile WLTP range.
Both powertrains come with a 400V electrical system. With the Standard Range battery this allows a 10-80% charge in 29 minutes at up to 118kW. A maximum charging rate for the Long Range battery is yet to be confirmed.
The strength of the car’s regenerative braking system can be adjusted to preference via steering wheel-mounted paddles, all the way down to full one-pedal driving.
From a handling point of view, we’d say the EV2 makes the most of its small car dimensions. There’s a really nice go-kart-like sense of it being willing to corner like it’s pivoting round a central axis, with the driver at the heart of it. Not that it’s as stiff as a go-kart – there’s a fair amount of lean and flex when pressing on – but there’s plenty of grip and a very capable-feeling chassis, with the weight of the EV battery mounted low in the car having an anchoring quality. It’s only a shame, from a driving point of view, that the steering is vague and uncommunicative, to the point that even when manoeuvring in town we’d appreciate a bit more heft to add confidence – however much its lightness will be appreciated by many. On a more positive note, in urban areas EV2 drivers benefit from good all-round visibility, as well as a great sense of nippiness and responsiveness, both from the handling and the motor.
Ride quality overall we’d describe as decent, with only the worst of the UK’s potholed roads causing significant jolts. There can be a touch of fidgetiness on B-roads, with a little more steering needed to keep the EV2 straight than might be expected, however bigger bumps in this context are dealt with very well, with no risk of the car losing composure or being thrown off line.
Practicality
On stepping aboard the EV2 the immediate impression is of an open, airy and spacious cabin for the segment. This is helped by the storage area between the front footwells being mounted very low down – although it still features plenty of capacity. It’s a design feature that makes a virtue of the gear selector being mounted on the steering column to free up space.
With First Edition spec, there’s a great range of electric driver’s seat adjustment, including lumbar support.
First Edition spec also brings some interesting interior material choices, like cloth on the dashboard, that work well, and the plastics that are present don’t give an impression of cheapness.
We must confess that we found the ‘have a nice day’ messages written inside the interior door handles a bit annoying, but of course this will be a matter of personal taste.
Front passengers have an abundance of phone charging facilities, with three USB-C ports and a wireless charger. Rear seat passengers also get USB-C ports, neatly integrated in the backs of the front seats, and also benefit from dedicated air vents. Thanks to there being room for feet to fit under the front seats, rear legroom is decent for a car of this size, and moving around back there is easy thanks to a flat floor. Headroom is good too.
The boot has a relatively high lip and features an adjustable floor. A capacity of 362 litres is smaller than some rivals, particularly the Puma Gen-E with its GigaBox. With the floor in its highest position, folding the rear seats creates a near-flat load bay, although there is a small gully left between the main boot floor and the seat backs. All but entry-level EV2s come with a 15-litre front boot designed for charging cable storage.
